Thirty days hath September
by Elfaki
Summary: Kakashi leaves on a grave mission and Sakura is left behind waiting for him. For how long will she wait? Will he come back alive?


Kakashi and Sakura. Well the story was inspired by the nursery rhyme with the same title. I had the idea and this came out. I'm thinking of righting one shots with nursery rhymes as a guideline or theme, and turning them into a series of one shots. Tell me what think of the idea. I believe that no one else wrote something similar. Reviews are really appreciated so please do it.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto neither the nursery rhyme.

The plot belongs to me. Thank you!!!

**Thirty days hath September**

Thirty days hath September, April, June and November; February has twenty-eight alone; all the rest have thirty-one.Excepting leap-year - that's the timewhen February's days are twenty-nine.

He left on the first day of September. He said he will be back next month. But the autumn's first month was short-lived. Its thirty days came and left as quickly as the length of a butterfly's life. Her life lasts only for a day. And she felt like it wasn't a whole month from his departure but only a day's length.

And then the grey October followed, accompanied by his letter, saying his stay must be extended for another month due to difficulties on the mission and the hardships that accompanied it. He would back in thirty-one days. What was one more month? She erased the days on the calendar one by one and while the numbers were getting bigger she felt happier. Her smile was hard to hide. Soon he would come and they would be together again.

Along with November and its rainy days came the news of his team. There were some complications and they had to delay their stay on enemy territory for yet another month. Like a broken record she repeated on her mind that he will back for the holidays. At least he was still alive, she thought when she heard for the first time the ill news . Since that day she began praying for his safety. She hoped she could provide him a sanctuary from everything. Secure him a place where he could find his much needed peace.

Snow. So much snow. At first there was only hoarfrost above the grass but then all the village was covered in a beautiful white silken sheet. That was December. The first days passed and she waited patiently for his arrival. It never came. The month was almost over when she found his letter among the holiday cards on her mailbox like a black dot on a white wall. It wasn't decorated with fancy colors and joyful pictures printed on its cover. It was short, hastily writhen and among the few loving words was the simple sentence that made the ever-present smile on her face falter. He wasn't sure when he would return. But he would and that was enough for her. It gave her strength to make it through the lonely nights and not cry for his absence. Hope and faith. Two words that she always whispered to herself on those random moments when sadness and longing overwhelmed her.

The New Year found the couple apart. His return was expected at the end of the month or the beginning of the next. She counted the days, one by one, clinging to her hope and dream desperately. Even though she pretended to be fine, deep inside she knew she wasn't. Whenever she heard that someone was approaching the village, she run to the gates and waited there until it was midnight. Then she would return disappointed to her home, because during that month he never came. Doubt crept over her, going under her skin, filling her thoughts. Tearing her from the inside like a deadly virus. Hope begun to fade. Slowly at first and more rapidly as February was only two days away.

The month dedicated to the lovers was spent lonely. She blocked herself from the outer world and never left her house; now that he was gone it couldn't be called a home. It was a mere building with stony walls surrounding her. Nothing more. Nothing less. On the twenty-ninth day of February she learnt the grave news. His team was missing, no bodies were found. Hatake Kakashi was presumed dead. Killed in action. She didn't shed a single tear. Denial. Her heart and soul would never accept his passing. She clung to her hope for life. She knew that if she lost her hope nothing would be the same.

March. April. May. Three months of loneliness. Three months of grief. Little by little her precious hope was leaving her and the more it did the worst she felt. It was supposed to be spring, like her name. Haruno. It was for the world. But for her heart it was nothing but cold winter. The snow in the village melted but the snow in her heart was getting thicker and thicker as the days went by.

June. July. And the summer entered the village's daily life. Everyone's spirit was cheered by the bright season. Everyone's but hers. The sun shone bright, radiating the world with its glorious light. Summer and everything that comes along with it ruled the atmosphere. For everyone the days became brighter and longer. For her the days were becoming darker and lonelier. The gardens were blooming. Her body was becoming weaker. Her mind was sunk in apathy. Her once luminous and vivid eyes were now lackluster and almost lifeless. She was nothing but a ghost of her former self. She wasn't laughing with her heart anymore. She just gave a sad smile to everyone that tried to cheer her up and say that she was fine. She just needed some sleep, she would reply to the more persistence. In the nights her mind would drift off to him. In her sleep her dreams had him in them. His face never left her. Her memories of him were always with her. Inside her mind, attached to her existence.

August had thirty one days. When those days would pass it would be one year since he left. It was almost surreal. For many people the first year from a loved one's passing would go by torturing slow. For her it was as it never came. Days turned easily to weeks. And the weeks with their turn would become months. The months formed the seasons and before she knew it, it was almost a year. Her mind couldn't grasp the time that had passed. It seemed like yesterday. No, it was like yesterday when he said goodbye to her. His words echoed in her mind. Ironically he had said "I'll be back soon. There's nothing to worry." And she believed him. To the core of her existence she believed everything he said and waited for him like he was god himself. No. He was someone far better than god. If god existed he would have never taken him away. He would never separate them. Like a forgotten withered flower on a lone grave she would walk alone through the village, searching frantically for a clue that was never found. A clue that he was alive somewhere and was coming home to her. Her efforts were all in vain. Five days before September first she gave up finally accepting his death. How could hope leave her, even after all this time? His body was never found. If there is no dead body to confirm his death then she still believed that he was alive. She said that until three days before September first. Then she allowed everything people told her to sink to her mind. Now she knew he would never come back.

September first. A girl in her early twenties was walking through the park and followed the path that led to the memorial. Within her delicate hands was a bouquet of white and golden flowers. The bouquet was meant for someone she held dear to her heart. She decided to walk to their special place before her visit his to empty grave. There among the trees was a wooden bench covered from view. It was hidden from the world. At first she would come here for peace and to find some time alone to think and clear her head. Then it became their bench because they would go there to hide from the world and its pain and its troubles. Find a few moments together, away from the ever watchful eyes of their friends. She loved them all but there were times when she wanted him alone, only for her and no one else. She sat down placing the flowers next to her. On that same bench he had said goodbye to her. She hasn't been there ever since that day, a year ago. She wished he was there next to her. No she wished he would be alive. She didn't care if he loved her or hated her. Just be alive, happy, and safe from any harm. She wished she was the dead one and he living his life enjoying every moment of it. How unfair the world was. She shed a few tears and then she firmly wiped her eyes. She was holding them for his grave. She wasn't going to cry for her loss over a bench in the middle of a park. His grave was a much better place for that, than a bench. It was more suited.

It was time to go and she lifted her tired body, standing there above it for only a moment and then she took the path for the memorial. She paused for another second trying to remember what she had forgotten. The flowers. His flowers. She turned around and took them in her embrace, holding them close to her heart. She began walking again.

"Where are you going?" the question made her stop on her tracks. No, it wasn't the question itself but the voice that said it. It was so familiar yet she couldn't tell from whom she heard it. She knew it was directed to her. No one else was there. Slowly and somewhat steadily she turned around. A gasp left from her mouth, her arms fell limp to her side and the flowers fell to the ground without a noise. Shock and even fear was on her face. She dares not to move. This wasn't real. Was it? And even if she wanted to she couldn't. Her body just stayed still, rooted on the ground.

Across from her was the tall figure of a man with silver hair, with his clothes torn and ragged. He also looked like he was travelling for a very long time. But other than that there was nothing that showed he was hurt. No wounds, no scars. He just looked tired and weary but other than that he looked fine. He walked closer to her until her body heat was mingling with his own. With a shaky hand he reached and caressed her skin with the tips of his fingers. His moves were slow as if he wanted to see that she wasn't an illusion but the reality. Apparently this was real because in one swift movement he encircled the small woman with his arms and held her tight. He didn't know for how long he was holding her but he wasn't willing to let her go soon.

"How long has it been?" She asked with a trembling voice. She had her arms wrapped around him, not willing to let go either.

"Three hundred and sixty six days." He replied softly to her question. He knew well what she meant. It was how much time had passed since the last time they last seen each other.

"Huh?" she couldn't understand what he meant at first. She never expected an answer.

"It was a leap-year. Don't you remember?" He replied in a whispering voice. Suddenly she laughed loud and clear. Her joyful laughter getting lost among the trees. It was intended only for him to hear after all.


End file.
